I’m an old Gen X-er so I feel maybe I can straddle two (or more) worlds. My generation (and Boomer) is often put in the position to take a position on some societal thing, whether it’s morals, social media, pharma, etc.
I have my own thoughts, having grown up before pharma was widely available and even before various healthcare options (employer and otherwise) were widely available. Even at 58 years old, I distinctly remember being so paralyzed with fear of talking before other adults, even with my parents, or just other people. We didn’t talk about this. This was a typical kid thing. Some kids were outgoing, some kids were not. You figured it out on your own. You simply decided to either find your own group, not care what people said, find a better voice or communication style, get some self-help or guidance or just live as an introvert.
Growing up and finding your self is not typically comfortable. But in that struggle, you find who you are.
That said, I know of no one who was prescribed medication. Please understand where I am coming from. I was born in 1965. I may go to my 40th high school reunion. I wonder about many of my classmates.
How about you? Do you think this is a Pharma-manufactured issue and they’ve targeted a market with which to amplify just regular preteen issues? Or might this be some sort of chemical thing, like micro plastics screwing with everything, or helicopter parents?
We didn't even have aspirin when I was a kid, so I'm not a good person to ask. But I remember when antidepressants came out. Everyone rushed out for some Prozac.
I think modern social anxiety is primarily due to the screens. People can operate online but never develop social skills. It's near epidemic. Covid made it ten times worse. Now no one wants to work outside the home, never kind customer facing.
As for pharma, I just had a new mom; first time mother, her son was born premature. She did not consent to give him vaccines in the incubator. They called CPS on her. Seriously, they came to her house.
@elsa omg, that’s horrifying about the new mother. No autonomy. That was given away a long time ago many many people (another topic, not for here).
I’m always so impressed when I meet young people who will look right at you and have a real conversation with questions and answers. I watched my niece and nephew do this and I thought it was because they went to private school. But they are in their late 20’s/30. I talked with a couple of kids 18/19 and they were able to mingle with us old folks.
As I wrote this, I’m wondering if it’s all just performative. And deep down they feel anxiety. This is normal for many. But what’s maybe not, for our generation, is talking about it ad nauseam, dissenting it, wanting immediate relief from it, whining about it, putting spotlights on it. When really it, yeah, it’s normal, you’ll get over it, fake it, look for the exit and leave in style 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, I’m from the same gen and nobody I knew was on psychotropic medications. There were no bandaids, we were forced to work through our pain, evolve and conquer. This worked out wonderfully as it was a Long term solution without the risks of drug dependency.
I think too many unqualified people diagnose social anxiety when in actual reality it is a normal degree of shyness. Not in all cases of course, but a fair few. The problem is that there is a fine line between shyness and social anxiety, and only specifically trained professionals can distinguish between the two.
Personally, I would never recommend a pharmaceutical course of action for social anxiety without first trying extensive behavioural techniques, which have a very successful track record.
So many studies these days support neuroplasticity. We really can learn, change and rewire our brains without pharma intervention.
It saddens me when I hear of young people being prescribed medicines instead of been given the opportunity to develop real, long lasting self esteem through behavioural strategies and a support system.
To answer your question..lol, I think regarding social anxiety, it is a pharma manufactured issue.
I deem other mental health issues such as depression as potentially more complex and can only judge case by case.
@hades-moon I like what you said: “it was a long term solution without the risks of drug dependency.”
Because risks were not revealed, were glossed over, were given another script to fix, or poo-poohed.
I'm Gen-X as well. None of the kids I knew were on prescription meds. I also didn't know any kid with autism. I was super shy and I have social anxiety to this day, but I would never take a pill to deal with social anxiety. When I had jobs where I had to work with the public I just made myself interact with people. Most people couldn't tell I was anxious because I hid that.
I think it's a pharma manufactured push to get kids on prescription drugs but I also agree with Elsa that it's kids being too much on screens. I watched one family sit at a dinner table and instead of talking to each other, they were texting each other on cellphones! I mean come on you're directly facing each other. I don't have kids but if I did I would probably prohibit them from having a cellphone.
@marissa I remember one kid in fourth grade who may have had something…or not? He was always the kid who was super disorganized. His desk was a mess with papers and books shoved in there. He never had his work. The teacher would tip his desk over occasionally in frustration and make him clean it up right then. Smack a trash can right next to him. You could see the humiliation in his face. I was embarrassed for all of us. It’s so awkward. Most of the kids were neat, some a little messy but could function like the school wanted you to. But here was this kid, called out, as if he was to be made an example of, or she was just so frustrated. I don’t know the back story, if the teachers called the parents in all the time and nothing was working. Or nobody knew what to do. The whole scene was the unspoken: don’t be like Anthony or you’ll get your desk overturned and yelled at.
Some teachers just fucking suck. My third grade teacher would come in every so often (it was often enough that we knew the routine) and not speak, she would write on the board that no one was to speak. And she was not speaking. She would write all the work assignments on the board. And fuck you if you needed further instructions. If you spoke to her, she sent you to the principal. Get a fucking grip, lady. Psycho.
We weren't allowed to have ADHD. (Or anything that falls into a category where a drug was needed) My mother would have knocked it out of us. Literally.
If we started to act out there were jobs she assigned and if that didn't work, then we were told to run. Exercise. Move and sweat until whatever bothered us was out of our system. If that didn't work the next thing was... we were getting out xxx kicked. Period. She only had to look at us.
I am serious when I say we were not allowed to have any of those things. Shoulders back, look people in the eye when you speak to them. Speak when spoken to. Do as I say. Total forced discipline from someone who had zero self-control, no discipline and took prescription drugs and drank boozahaul every day. 😳
@warped We didn't have a choice. We did it or else 😳 we were afraid of her. She had no problem knocking the crap out of us without notice!
Really though, I didn't know anyone who had parents that didn't do the same. Parents spanked kids back then. They wasted no time knocking the shiz out of their kid for misbehaving.
They never considered the kid may have an issue. It was misbehaving to them.
And all my friend's parents drank and smoked too. Common from what I saw. I dk if their parents took pills but diet pills were handed out by doctors like candy.
It was speed. We know that now.
There were no drugs for us. We rarely took an aspirin. I mean, if we even had them at all.
My mom tried to swat me a few times but I could easily outrun her reach! My dad smoked Lucky Strikes and had a cold beer after mowing the lawn, and a shot of whiskey in hot tea with lemon to cure a rare really bad cold.
We had aspirin, mercurochrome, rubbing alcohol, ExLax, and Vicks in the medicine cabinet. Our old country doctor would send us home with a tiny manila envelope containing baby aspirin for whichever of the routine childhood ailments worried my parents enough for the $2 office visit.
@warped We had rubbing alcohol, Mercurochrome exlax and Vicks too... over the counter. They smoked Pall Mall cigarettes .... man am I going back in time lol! They drank Stag & Miller beer haha God the smell of it, even today, makes me sick.
My mother could down a shot of whiskey like a dock worker. Hangover... shot of whiskey. Hair of the dog they said. So gross. I remember all the smells. I used to go around to ash trays and put cigarettes out... disgusting. And worse... they drove in the car and smoked. GROSS...
When we got sick, she smeared Vicks all over our chests and wrapped a towel around our neck and down our chest and put us to bed. I have NO idea what this was supposed to do. Unclog my nose?
I had measles mumps rubella... they didn't have a vx for those things when I was little, so I just caught the virus, illness... whatever and had to live through it. And I did. I got the chicken pox when I worked pediatrics' in the hospital as an adult. (I was 20, I think?) I have had them all..... what did she do? VICKS lol.... seriously. We just had to ride it out.
First big vx I remember was smallpox and that left a big scab on my arm and then a scar that I still have today. Never got smallpox... or Polio but I caught the rest of them.
@soup I was afraid of my parents, too. I wasn’t terrified, like monsters, but it was a healthy fear. We got spanked as kids. By a wooden spoon. That drawer would fly open and we’d all 😯 straighten up real quick.
I took the wooden spoon when my mom sold the house. I just laugh at it now.
@allie120 Same! I didn't think I would be Murd3red or anything, but I was certain I would get my X kicked. No doubt about it.
@soup For real, stuck us with chores and tasks and told us to go outside because even as it was there was nothing on tv.
The attitude and the yelling (outside voices) that my grands have been permitted to get away with would have been nipped right quick as soon as we were able to speak. You think they don’t even realize you don’t have to let your kid yell and scream in the house. lol They don’t do that here.
Sorry. I know people have different thresholds but even the kids are sick of it.
@allie120 I had chores every day. A list. But I didn't need it because I knew what was expected of me. If I didn't do it, restriction. And I did not want that. And the next thing was worse. So, I did what she expected me to do and more.
I cannot imagine yelling in the house 😳 I mean, we just knew better. I know it was a different time, but I try to imagine what would have happened if I had melted down in the grocery store OMG 🤣 or at school 😳 my mother said you are going to school to get an education. If your teacher ever has to call me for bad behavior, we are going to have a very big problem..... you know the rest. I did NOT cause a problem at school. Even when the teacher may have been a real jerk.
I have Mars in Gemini. While I cannot keep up with my Gemini stellium son or my Gemini rising son verbally... my grandma used to say I could talk the ears off a pig. That said, once I got a U in conduct for talking. I got my Axx kicked, and it never happened again. And this wasn't out of order or out of my seat or... anything big really. If you spoke, you got a U in conduct. I was grounded until it came back different. NO privileges. None.
If we slouched, she would walk behind us and poke two fingers between our shoulder blades... stand up straight. It will change everything. Do it.
My mother was strict with me. Less with my youngest sister. I got the worst of it. It never occurs to me as an adult to do the wrong thing first. Never. I have been trained by hell on heels.
It's pharma, indoctrination, screens, media, and unhealthy sugar and chemical laden food. Perhaps also vax damage from so many early in life. Instead of putting chemicals in hyper or nervous kids, trying taking chemicals out -- many are allergic to food colorings, preservatives, more.
I was adoring but domineering with my parents, shy with teachers, indifferent to most other children. An honor student mostly with ease, but anxious about maintaining that. The one thing that might've really engaged me and prevented my lack of direction in life would've been far more focus by school and parents on really exploring a wealth of potential occupations. Is this still lacking for many kids? If so, it might be a far better remedy than meds!